Ceiling system and also a lath suitable for such a ceiling system

ABSTRACT

A ceiling system for attachment to an existing ceiling. The system comprises a plurality of laths, each lath mounted to an existing ceiling, wherein each lath is provided with at least a first slot and a second slot, the second slot parallel to the first slot; a cloth stretched between the laths, wherein the cloth is detachably fixed in the first slot by a strip clamped down therein, and a cover mould having a rib, the rib detachably clamped down in the second slot, the cover mould extending beyond the strip positioned in the first slot.

The invention relates to a ceiling system comprising at least two lathsto be fixed some distance apart and a cloth to be stretched between saidlaths.

The invention furthermore relates to a lath suitable for such a ceilingsystem.

A ceiling system of this kind is used for finishing a ceiling in wholeor in part. Of course it is also possible to use the ceiling system forfinishing walls.

With a ceiling system which is known per se, laths are fixed to theceiling. Then a cloth is fixed to the laths by means of staples. Thus aceiling can be finished in a simple manner, whereby the ceiling ishidden from view by the cloth. The colour and the structure of the cloththus provide a possibility to change the appearance of the ceiling in asimple manner.

The use of staples makes the provision of the cloth a relativelytime-consuming operation, whilst the permanent fastening by means of thestaples makes the original ceiling inaccessible.

With another ceiling system which is known per se, laths are providedwith slots, in which the cloth is clamped down, after which finishingmoulds are fixed to the laths by means of screws or nails. Also withthis known ceiling system the original ceiling is no longer accessible.

The object of the invention is to provide a ceiling system wherein theabove drawbacks are avoided.

This objective is accomplished with the ceiling system according to theinvention in that each lath is provided with at least two parallelslots, whereby the cloth can be detachably fixed in the first slot bymeans of a strip which can be clamped down in said slot, whilst a ribextending transversely to a cover mould can be detachably clamped downin said second slot, said cover mould extending beyond the strippositioned in said first slot.

The cloth can be fixed to the lath relatively quickly by means of saidstrip, whereby access to the original ceiling can be readily gained byremoving said cover mould and said strip. This is of importance, forexample when suspending a lamp from the original ceiling. The lath canbe beautifully finished in a simple manner by means of said cover mould,whereby the strip, by means of which the cloth is fitted, is hidden fromview by said cover mould. Preferably said cover mould extends over theentire lath. It is noted that French patent document No. 2,597,906discloses a ceiling system whereby each edge of the cloth is providedwith attachment means which can be connected to an upwardly and inwardlyextending flange of a lath. A cover mould provided with a rib can beclamped between two adjacent attachment means. A disadvantage of thissystem is that the stretching of the cloth depends on the position ofthe attachment means with respect to the edge of the cloth. Furthermorethe positioning of the rib between the two attachment means might becumbersome as in case that the distance between the two attachment meansis too wide the rib will not be held and in case that the distance istoo small the insertion of the rib between the attachment means mightcause the attachment means to come loose from the lath and the clothwill be detached therefrom. It is noted that ceiling systems are knownfrom U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,806, and Netherlands patent document No.7,302,059. Said ceiling systems are not provided with a cover mould,however.

One embodiment of the ceiling system according to the invention ischaracterized in that said lath is furthermore provided with a thirdslot extending between said first and said second slot.

When in the case of a relatively large ceiling two cloths are used,which extend on either side of the lath, said cloths are clamped down insaid first slot and said second slot by means of strips. Then the covermould is fixed in said third slot extending between said cloths byclamping the rib extending transversely to said cover mould down in saidslot.

Another embodiment of the ceiling system according to the invention ischaracterized in that said lath comprises a hook-shaped guide section,which extends parallel to said slots, whereby an attachment block isslidably accommodated in said guide section.

When the laths are fixed to a ceiling or to walls, the guide sectionsface towards the wall. Pictures or the like can be suspended from saidattachment blocks by means of wires. In this manner a ceiling system isobtained whereby the number of parts to be fixed to the ceiling or tothe walls is minimal.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to thedrawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ceiling system according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a lamp attachment with a ceilingsystem according to the invention, taken along line II—II of FIG. 1.

Like parts are numbered alike in the Figures.

FIG. 1 shows a ceiling system 1 according to the invention, whichcomprises a number of laths 2 extending parallel to each other andtransversely to each other, and a flexible cloth 3 of plastic material,which is stretched between said laths. For the sake of clarity only onelath 2 is shown in FIG. 1, but it will be apparent that other laths maybe disposed in parallel or transverse relationship thereto.

Ceiling system 1 functions as the finishing element of a ceiling 5extending between walls 4, whereby the ceiling is finished in whole orin part. Before describing the attachment of ceiling system 1 to ceiling5, the individual parts of ceiling system 1 will be explained first.Lath 2 is an elongated section having a length of for example 2 m, whichmay be extruded from plastic material or from aluminium, for example,and which comprises a baseplate 6 and five walls 7, 8, 9, 10, 11extending transversely thereto. Wall 7 comprises a flange 12 extendingtransversely to said wall near one end thereof. Walls 9 and 10 comprisebarb-like teeth 13 on their sides facing each other. On their sidesfacing away from baseplate 6, walls 10 and 11 are interconnected bymeans of a plate 14 extending parallel to baseplate 6, beyond wall 11,which plate 14 is provided at one end with a flange 15 facing baseplate6. The open walls 7, 8, 9, 10 form three slots 16, 17, 18 extendingparallel to each other.

Baseplate 6, upright wall 11, part of plate 14 and flange 15 extendingtransversely thereto together form a hook-shaped guide section 19, inwhich a U-shaped attachment block 20 is slidably accommodated.Attachment block 20 may move along line P as shown by the arrows. Oneleg 21 of U-shaped attachment block 20 is positioned outside guidesection 19. A cord 22 is secured to said leg 21.

An elongated strip 23 can be clamped down in first slot 16, said stripcomprising a rounded part 24 on a side facing lath 2.

A rib 25, which is likewise provided with barbs, can be clamped down inbarbed second slot 18. Rib 25 extends transversely to a cover mould 26,whose width is at least equal to the width of lath 2. Cover mould 26,which may for example be extruded from plastic material or fromaluminium, is provided with a groove 27 on a side facing away from saidrib, in which groove an ornamental strip 28 can be detachably fixed.Cover mould 26 is provided with an elastically deformable flange 42 on aside facing wall 4.

Cloth 3 is provided with a number of parallel loops 29, only one ofwhich is shown in FIG. 1. Loop 29 is formed by folding cloth 3 doublelocally and fixing the opposite cloth parts together by means of awelded or stitched seam 30. Loop 29 accommodates a tensioning cable 31,which is provided with a tensioning element 32 at both ends.

The attachment of ceiling system 1 to a ceiling 5 will now be explainedin more detail.

First distance blocks 43 are fixed to ceiling 5 near walls 4. Then holesare drilled in plates 14 between walls 10, 11, through which screws arepassed. Then baseplate 6 is fixed to distance blocks 43 by means of saidscrews. Laths 2 are connected together by means of mitre joints near theplace where walls 4 join each other. After ceiling 5 has been providedwith laths 2 near all walls 4 bounding the ceiling, the provision ofcloth 3 may be started. To this end cloth 3 is placed opposite firstslot 16 and clamped down therein by moving strip 23 in the directionindicated by arrow P1, engaging the cloth 3 at position 33. Cloth 3 isformed into a U-shape thereby. When cloth 3 is relatively large, it willbe provided with loops 29, in which tensioning cables 31 areaccommodated. The tensioning elements 32 secured to the ends of saidtensioning cables are fixed to walls 4 between laths 2 and ceiling 5 bymeans of a bracket (not shown). Then cloth 3 is stretched by means oftensioning elements 32. This prevents cloth 3 from sagging in themiddle. All edges of cloth 3 are then connected to laths 2 by means ofstrips 23. Cloth 3 is tensioned along all edges by pressing cloth 3 intoslot 16. Then cover mould 26 is moved in the direction indicated byarrow P2, whereby rib 25 is slid into slot 18. Barbs 13 provide a solidconnection between lath 2 and cover mould 26. As a result of said covermould being provided, lath 2 and strip 23 are hidden from view and anattractive finish of the ceiling near wall 4 is obtained. In order tomake cover mould 26 look even more attractive an ornamental strip 28 isfitted into groove 27. It will be readily possible to replace saidornamental strip 28 by another ornamental strip, if desired. In theabovedescribed manner the ceiling system 1 according to the inventioncan be fixed to a ceiling 5 relatively quickly. Elastic flange 42 abutsagainst wall 4 and adapts itself to local unevennesses on wall 4 byelastic deformation. Elastic flange 42 furthermore enables easy passageof cord 22. Cord 22 may subsequently be used for suspending a paintingor the like therefrom.

In the case of a relatively large ceiling or a transition between twoceilings it is also possible to fix a lath 2 to the ceiling at somedistance from walls 4. In that case a cloth is stretched on either sideof lath 2, whereby cloths 3 are secured both within first groove 16 andwithin second groove 18 by means of strips 23. Then a cover mould isattached to lath 2 by sliding rib 25 into the middle or third groove 17.The cover mould has a symmetric configuration thereby, and does notcomprise an elastically deformable flange 42.

FIG. 2 shows a ceiling system according to the invention composing alamp mounting element 34. Lamp mounting element 34 comprises a squareplate 35, which is centrally provided with an indentation 36. Saidindentation 36 is provided with a hole 37 in its centre. Plate 35 isprovided with four attachment blocks 38 near its corner points, whichare fixed to the ceiling by means of screws prior to the cloth beingprovided. After cloth 3 has been provided, a hole 39 is formed in cloth3, opposite hole 37. Then a lamp system 40, which is known per se, ismounted on plate 35 by means of springs 41 through opposite holes

What is claimed is:
 1. A ceiling system comprising: a plurality of lathsfixed relative to a ceiling and spaced some distance apart wherein eachlath is provided with at least a first slot and a second slot, saidsecond slot parallel to said first slot; a cloth stretched between saidlaths, wherein said cloth is provided with a loop on a side facing saidlaths, which loop accommodates a tensioning cable, and further whereinsaid cloth is detachably fixed in each said first slot by means of astrip clamped down therein; and at least one cover mould, each covermould having a rib, each rib detachably clamped down in a respectivesaid second slot, each cover mould extending beyond said strip clampeddown in the corresponding said first slot.
 2. A ceiling systemcomprising: a plurality of laths fixed relative to a ceiling and spacedsome distance apart wherein each lath is provided with at least a firstslot and a second slot, said second slot parallel to said first slot; acloth stretched between said laths, wherein said cloth is detachablyfixed in each said first slot by means of a strip clamped down therein;and at least one cover mould, each cover mould having a rib, each ribdetachably clamped down in a respective said second slot, each covermould extending beyond said strip clamped down in the corresponding saidfirst slot, wherein each cover mould is provided, on a side facing awayfrom said rib, with an ornamental strip which is detachably fixedthereto.
 3. A ceiling system comprising: a plurality of laths fixedrelative to a ceiling and spaced some distance apart wherein each lathis provided with at least a first slot and a second slot, said secondslot parallel to said first slot; a cloth stretched between said laths,wherein said cloth is detachably fixed in each said first slot by meansof a strip clamped down therein; and at least one cover mould, eachcover mould having a rib, each rib detachably clamped down in arespective said second slot, each cover mould extending beyond saidstrip clam-ped down in the corresponding said first slot, wherein eachcover mould is provided, on a side facing away from said rib, with anelastically deformable flange, and further provided, on a side facingaway from said rib, with an ornamental strip which is detachably fixedthereto.
 4. A ceiling system comprising: a plurality of laths fixedrelative to a ceiling and spaced some distance apart wherein each lathis provided with at least a first slot and a second slot, said secondslot parallel to said first slot, wherein said laths each comprise ahook-shaped guide section, which extends parallel to said slots, wherebyan attachment block is slidably accommodated within said guide section;a cloth stretched between said laths, wherein said cloth is detachablyfixed in each said first slot by means of a strip clamped down therein;and at least one cover mould, each cover mould having a rib, each ribdetachably clamped down in a respective said second slot, each covermould extending beyond said strip clamped down in the corresponding saidfirst slot.
 5. A ceiling system comprising: a plurality of laths fixedrelative to a ceiling and spaced some distance apart wherein each lathis provided with at least a first slot, a second slot, and a third slot,said second slot parallel to said first slot, said third slot extendingbetween said first and said second slot, wherein said laths eachcomprise a hook-shaped guide section, which extends parallel to saidslots, whereby an attachment block is slidably accommodated within saidguide section; a cloth stretched between said laths, wherein said clothis detachably fixed in each said first slot by means of a strip clampeddown therein; and at least one cover mould, each cover mould having arib, each rib detachably clamped down in a respective said second slot,each cover mould extending beyond said strip clamped down in thecorresponding said first slot.